An attempt to kidnap a four-year-old boy for begging was foiled by members of the public in Kolathur on Tuesday afternoon.

According to the police, D. Mukesh is the son of Duraisamy and Geetha, residents of Poompuhar Nagar in Kolathur. On Tuesday afternoon, Mukesh was playing outside his house, when a 30-year- old woman approached him. She lured him with chocolates and led him away from the house.

Duraisamy and Geetha came out and started searching for him. “By then the woman had reached the adjacent street,” said a police source.

Some members of the public grew suspicious on seeing Mukesh with the woman who was not a resident of the locality. They nabbed her and handed over Mukesh to his parents. They then called the police. During interrogation, it was found that the woman’s name was Manjula and she was from West Bengal.

According to the police, Manjula was planning to take Mukesh to the railway station and make him beg. “We are investigating if she was part of a gang,” said the police officer.